Security threats divert Air France planes

18/11/2015

(Reuters)

Two Air France flights bound for Paris from the United States have been diverted and landed safely after anonymous threats the carrier called a "bomb scare."

Just days after deadly terror attacks in the French capital, one jet was diverted to Salt Lake City, Utah, after taking off from Los Angeles, while the second left Washington and was diverted to Halifax, Canada.

Both aircraft – flight 65 out of Los Angeles, and flight 55 out of Dulles International Airport in Virginia near the US capital – have landed safely.

The flights "were subjects of anonymous threats received after their respective take-offs," the airline said in a statement.

"As a precautionary measure and to conduct all necessary security checks, Air France ... decided to request the landings of both aircraft."

"Local authorities are carrying out complete inspections of the aircraft, the passengers and their luggage," the carrier said, adding that the "source of the telephone call" was being investigated.

Social media comments alluded to an emergency landing of the jet that left Los Angeles, saying it had touched down in Utah, with many police cars on the tarmac.

"It was diverted to Salt Lake City because of a security incident," CNN quoted the Federal Aviation Administration as saying.

The incidents come on the heels of terror attacks in the French capital Friday (local time), which killed at least 129 people.

They also come as Russia confirmed that the Russian passenger jet that crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last month, killing 224, had been brought down by a bomb.